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SEATTLE -- Investigators say poor judgment led to the sinking of a Seattle fishing vessel and the deaths of seven fishermen in the Bering Sea.

Only four men survived when the Katmai went down in October 2008. The Coast Guard on Friday released their official investigation report, and they're pointing the finger squarely at the ship's captain.

"The captain knew the storm was coming. He thought he could beat it," said Coast Guard Commander Rob McLellan.

"I've had a knot in my stomach so long, it's just still there, it's just the same knot every day," Shara Martindale said.

She didn't hesitate to agree with the Coast Guard and place blame on Captain Blake.

"If they had not driven into a hurricane they would not be dead."

Attorney Greg Knowles represents two other fisherman, one survived the other did not.

"You can understand how it can happen, you've been out for 30 days, and everybody's tired wants to see their families, they want to get home," he said. "You think you can make, but this occasion they didn't."

And it wasn't just taking on hurricane-force winds.

The report says the boat also sank because the hull was carrying 120,000 pounds of Cod. The boat's stability report said it could hold 60,000 pounds, but gave no maximum cargo weight limit.

"Therefore the captain could assume he could fill that hull full," McLellan said.

The steering controls were also flooded when water poured through a watertight door that had been left open.

Martindale didn't know until she lost her son that some Coast Guard Safety recommendations are voluntary for small vessels like the Katmai.

"It's frustrating to see recommendations not implemented, especially when people do keep dying," she said.

Lawmakers are being asked to make inspections of these small vessels mandatory. Right now if such inspections happen, it is usually voluntary or for insurance purposes.